Why they sent gagarin into space?

Yuri Gagarin was sent into space as part of a Propaganda plot by the Soviet Union to send the first human into space. At the time of his flight, Gagarin, who was only 27 years old, and while extremely smart, lacked the piloting experience of NASA's Mercury astronauts. Gagarin spent 6 months training for his mission, while the Mercury astronauts spent 2 years. The Mercury astronauts piloted their spacecraft while Gagarin was little more than a passenger in space, unable to control or manipulate the spacecraft in any way. The Soviets were great at grabbing the headlines, even if it meant risking the lives of those inside the spacecraft.